


Campfire stories: When a cowboy yearns for love

by TheCrimsonValley



Series: Campfire stories [2]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Arthur Morgan is a sassy bastard as per usual, Dorks, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Slice of Life, another day in the life of John Marston putting up with Arthur's shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21793822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrimsonValley/pseuds/TheCrimsonValley
Summary: John Marston tries to figure out this entire flirting thing. Arthur is his usual helpful self. Featuring special appearance from a salmon.
Series: Campfire stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549999
Comments: 12
Kudos: 41





	Campfire stories: When a cowboy yearns for love

**Author's Note:**

> This is my drabbles of everything and nothing in the camp/around missions. Be aware that everyone in these stories will be huge dorks/idiots/goofs. Please enjoy.  
> All notebook sketches by [Natt_The_Tired](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natt_the_Tired)

John Marston was brooding. The young lad's brows remained so furrowed Arthur felt certain that if he kept it up, his face would sooner or later remain stuck in that position. As he continued the process of de-boning the fish in his hands, he could not help but to smirk at the fact that, despite his younger years passing behind him, John would still pout whenever deep in thought. It was a fact well known but heavily denied by the youngster himself.

“Marston, would ya mind keeping what little sense ya have concentrated on the fish?”

His comment did little to stop John's expression from hardening, though it took a turn from thoughtful into moping territory. Arthur just chuckled as he continued the task at hand. There were hungry mouths to feed, the fishes weren't gonna take care of themselves and every other lecture given by Hosea were crossing his mind.

“How do you do it?”

Hearing John speak, he stopped for a moment, weighing the knife in his hand as he glanced over at the young man. John refused eye contact, as so often when their subjects were not of the confrontational kind. A sign of his feral nature or at least so he had always thought. There were only one time that he knew John Marston would make eye contact, when there were actually something he needed to ask seriously.

“Do what?” Arthur responded, gesticulating towards the fish “this? I showed you a million times Marston!”

“Not that ya moron!” John snapped back.

Seeing the gesture of the youngster folding his arms over his chest, a sigh flew over Arthur's lips as he shook his head.

“Fine, what then?”

“The thing... with ladies, the thing you do in town, when you make them smile and ya know...”

John's sentence seemed barley coherent and it took longer than Arthur wished to admit before he understood the sentence in full. Once it had sunk in however, he could not stop himself from giving a low laughter, trying his best to stifle it as he watched the young man's cheeks grow redder and his expression even more furious than before.

“What now, is it not working out to be brooding and mysterious for ya Marston?”

The only response that was passed onto him was a loud grunt of disgust, yet he was fairly certain he had hit his head on the nail. It was perhaps not working out to the point that John had wished at least and he did not feel the least bit surprised.

“Ya can't just stand about ya know” Arthur continued, completely ignoring the furious pout from John “Once ya see one ya like, ya ought to reel her in, give some comments, that grumpy look alone won't do it.”

Putting the knife down, he stroked over his stubbly cheek before his eyes landed onto the pile of still unfinished fish. The thought came quickly, devilishly fast as it seemed to naturally do for his mind yet, for once, he did not fight against it at all. Instead, with the biggest of smirk, Arthur reached out to grab a rather sizeable salmon.

“And once ya got her, just put yer arm around her waist and give her a kiss and she'll be swooning all over ya!”

While trying his damned best not to break out into a fit of laughter, he turned around towards John once more, watching the youngster's expression for a short moment before raising the fish and, with quite the bit of work, managing to open its mouth.

“Come on Marston, kiss her, she'll be all over you.”

“Haha, very funny Arthur!”

He watched how John tried to reach for his own knife and quickly he leaned forward, cutting in between, landing the salmon almost straight in front of John's face. This time he could not stifle the laughter as he watched the youngster jerk back quite violently.

“Don't leave her hanging Marston!” Arthur continued “Kiss her!”

“Cut it out!”

John's tone was one of mixed anger and disgust all at once yet Arthur could feel how the devil himself seemed to have jumped into him, an expression he recalled had been uttered by both Dutch and Hosea more than once. Seeing John fly up from his seat, he quickly did the same, following every step of the young man.

“Kiss me Marston!”

“Arthur, I swear I'll...”

The threats rained empty over him as the chase picked up, his own laughter being drowned out by the various curses from John as the lanky man tried his best to escape the perusing “lady” that he himself had so graciously picked up. Only once John turned to give a few punches in his general direction did Arthur halt, his sides by now hurting from the laughters, his breath almost heaving.

A loud snort followed by a light clearing of one's throat was what drew both their attentions. Turning about, Arthur's eyes settled onto Hosea, the older man's arms crossed over his chest and the corner of his lips quivering, a clear sign he was trying his damned best not to burst out into laughter.

“Are you two willing to go without dinner?”

“It's all Arthur's fault, he started...”

Hearing John's whining voice, Arthur could do little more than give a snigger.

“What? I thought that the dating lessons were going pretty good!”


End file.
